![\"548f550bc64d3_-_rbk-baby-in-a-bar\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/548f550bc64d3_-_rbk-baby-in-a-bar.jpg?resize=188%2C102\")
<\/p>\nIt’s that time of year again, folks! \u00a0The sun, the stars, the heat, the sweat, the billions of people milling around on missions to see actors, writers, directors and artists, going crazy with too much stimulus, not enough time and zero social skills. \u00a0That’s right friends- ComicCon San Diego is next week!<\/p>\n
For parents, ComicCon is a bittersweet engagement full of all our favorite things and all our child’s favorite things, PLUS all the things they’re not allowed to touch, see, go anywhere near or break.<\/p>\n
For the novice convention goer who is also a parent, the SD ComicCon can be a wild jungle of danger and disaster waiting to happen. \u00a0For those of you who have never been but will be taking your children for the first time this year, I thought I’d create a little top 10 list for you. Keep in mind, this list is based on what I wish someone had told ME, before we took\u00a0our baby of 9 months old into one of the most insane places on Earth for 5 days. \u00a0So here we go…\u00a0<\/p>\n
#1 Babies can’t go in bars<\/p>\n
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Children\u00a0are not allowed in bars. \u00a0Yeah, I know this is a no-brainer in the rest of the world, but when half the activities and attractions outside the convention center are located INSIDE bars, it’s good to get a reminder. \u00a0No, they do not make allowances for babies under a year old. \u00a0No, they don’t care if your baby is in a carrier on your chest. \u00a0A baby is a minor and a minor may not enter a bar. \u00a0Some places in the Gas Lamp District are considered “pubs” and those places have a grey area that allows babies and children, but only during meal hours. \u00a0After 10pm, babies and children are no longer welcome in those places. \u00a0This means any meet-and-greet activity, any celebrity signing, any contest or activity taking place inside any bar will have to be attended without children. \u00a0To be quite honest, you really don’t want your baby to be there anyway. \u00a0Hot, small rooms packed full of drunk geeks is likely not the best\u00a0place to take a baby and the stroller wouldn’t hardly even fit through the door anyway. (Believe me, I tried)<\/p>\n
#2 Packing for the day<\/p>\n
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When you pack for your day at the convention without kids, the idea is to go as light as possible, right? Well, try to plan ahead and do the same with kids. \u00a0I know that’s a tall order when you’re also trying to pack for the unexpected, but do your best. \u00a0pack diapers single file along the bottom of a bag rather than stacked. \u00a0Carry wipes in a soft container that can easily bend. \u00a0Carry baby’s food and snacks in packages that are flatter rather than bulky. \u00a0Consider a camel pack for water and a smallish cup or even a flat canteen style sippy you can easily refill rather than big, bulky bottles. \u00a0Oh, and don’t pack crackers or puffs in plastic baggies or they’ll be baggies full of dust within an hour. \u00a0Trust me, it’s no fun. \u00a0Extra clothes can be packed flat in the bag in layers. \u00a0Be sure to pack for blow-outs, accidents, photo ops and cold. \u00a0Overall, when you pack, think layers not stacks and it’ll be easier. \u00a0One more thing – the food there is awful and picky child eaters may not be thrilled with their choices. \u00a0I know mine weren’t. \u00a0All they wanted to eat were the french fries and we had to walk outside and go somewhere way more expensive to put any sort of protein in their bodies. \u00a0So, keep that in mind and maybe pack healthy, protein-powered snacks to get you through that.<\/p>\n
#3 Breastfeeding<\/p>\n
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If you are still breastfeeding your baby, first of all- ROCK ON, MAMA, well done!! \u00a0ComicCon has a place for you to go if you need quiet. \u00a0Toward the front of the exhibit hall near check in, you can go visit a nursing station where you can quietly feed your baby in a cool, softly lit “room”\u00a0(Okay, it’s more like a stall, but it’s better than nothing, right?) and take all the time you need. \u00a0If you don’t care about feeding your baby behind a curtain, be sure to bring a baby carrier that allows you to comfortably nurse your baby while you walk around. \u00a0This is especially important to know because a new policy states they will NOT allow you to sit down in the exhibit hall unless it’s in a specified lounge area. \u00a0So, no more parking it in a corner someplace while your phone charges on the wall and no more stopping to nurse for a few minutes.<\/p>\n
#4 Expectations<\/p>\n
![\"Scheduling\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Scheduling.jpg?resize=237%2C157\")
Just don’t have any. \u00a0Easy enough, right? \u00a0If this is your first time with children, you need to chill out before you get carried away creating schedules and making any solid, set in stone plans. \u00a0Just as you have already found to be true in parenthood, whatever can happen probably will and it is SO much easier to manage the unexpected when you don’t allow your own bitter disappointment to cloud the moment. Expectations when taking your children to a place like this is asking for trouble from the beginning. Remember, even though this is a place you treasure and love and cannot wait to go to see all the shiny… to your child, this place could be terrifying, miserable, exhausting and disappointing. \u00a0You have to go with the flow and know that most of the time you will be winging it from one minute to the next. \u00a0Some specific things to consider on this one…<\/p>\n
I am taking the time to say all this because in the five years I’ve had children, I have never stopped attending conventions and I see miserable parents dragging their screaming children through lines, exhibit halls, everywhere – yelling and barking at them to behave, stop crying, stop throwing fits, stop throwing “tantrums” and all I can think, is – dude, just take the kid outside. \u00a0Feed them a sandwich and take away that soda or juice that painted their lips purple. \u00a0Respect their needs as though they were a friend, not a possession and let them relax. \u00a0Go back to the hotel, play in the pool or get a treat and go for a trolly ride. If people would be more careful to stop demanding their small children fit into grown up situations and take more time to do what is necessary to accommodate their needs, I am 100% certain these kids would have more fun. \u00a0It makes me sad when I see this happen and I feel like it’s so easy to fix it if the parents were just more willing to put aside their expectations and put their children’s needs first. \u00a0I know this one is a bit soap-boxish, but please just consider it. \u00a0Everyone will have a MUCH better time if you do.<\/p>\n
#5 Plan to be loners<\/p>\n
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If you’re going to a convention as a family and that’s it, this shouldn’t be any problem. \u00a0The issues tend to arise when you go with larger groups of people, especially when those other people do not have children. They will likely assume that you will still be going out to party at night and they won’t even think about the fact that you have a baby now, so you can’t do that anymore and you’re probably too exhausted to care about free drinks at the Supernatural event in the Analog Bar. \u00a0(Okay, no, you totally still care but a shower, bed and putting the baby down for longer than five minutes seems like a way better idea) \u00a0Make sure you tell your friends up front that the traditions have to change because your life has changed. \u00a0Maybe you can’t go to the fancy bar at the Marriott after preview night anymore – maybe you take the baby and go to the Hard Rock Cafe instead after a trip to Nerd HQ at the Children’s Museum instead! \u00a0Plan for a great day around what you and your children will love to do and see. \u00a0Your friends will get over it. \u00a0If they don’t, they’re not really your friends. \u00a0Oh, speaking of the Marriott – the hotel lounge is a really nice place to get out of the heat and relax. \u00a0It’s also a great people-watching spot where you are likely to spot a few celebrities.<\/p>\n
#6 Dress everyone for comfort first, fashion second<\/p>\n
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Everyone wants to dress up their kids and themselves for ComicCon, but if you’re not planning to return to the hotel halfway through your day to change, it could end up a pretty long, miserable day for you and baby and children and friends. \u00a0There are plenty of ways to dress up your children without making them impossible to carry, hard to hold, frustrated with lack of movement and it may take some creativity, but you can totally find ways to cosplay with your kids without it making the day harder. \u00a0Think of\u00a0normal clothing that can allude\u00a0to a character or choose fabrics when making your clothes that appeal to your theme without having to actually fabricate extra parts that may hinder your or baby’s movement, flexibility and safety. \u00a0The baby-wearing costumes can be super cool, but at some point you’ll probably want to take it off or let your partner carry the baby for a while, so keep that in mind. Oh, also remember that any props you give your kids to hold to go with their costume will be carried by you, probably within the first 5 minutes after walking in. \u00a0If you can find a way to fabricate props so they are attached to them rather than held by them, it’ll make everyone’s life easier.<\/p>\n
#7 Childcare is available!<\/p>\n
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There IS childcare at the convention center if you absolutely MUST attend a panel, network without children, attend an adult event or you just need some time. \u00a0I spoke to the manager of the childcare company ComicCon International uses each year and wrote on this last year. \u00a0That article can be found ![\"IMG_4836\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/IMG_4836.jpg?resize=203%2C135\")
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Plan on getting your littles\u00a0something awesome to remember the event. \u00a0Not just some random toy you could buy at the Disney store a week after the convention or whatever, but something special to commemorate their experiences. \u00a0A keepsake may not be a treasure to a child of three, eight or even 14, but to an adult who understands what their parents went through to provide such a one of a kind experience for their child – it can be priceless. \u00a0Each year, I find them something with the date and the event name on it, something I can put on a shelf or something that can be framed. \u00a0So, get creative and sentimental about this one and you are sure to create a tradition worth keeping! \u00a0Hunt down the artist of their favorite show and ask them to write a little message to them to read when they are older. \u00a0Ask YOUR favorite artist to draw their favorite character in his style. \u00a0Find the booth for the production company or publishing company of something your child loves and maybe already has and get it signed by someone there. \u00a0It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, it just has to be special to them.<\/p>\n![\"images\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/images-1.jpeg?resize=197%2C131\")
In all things, safety is going to outweigh every other decision, plan, option or activity. \u00a0Keep hands and eyes on your children at all times. \u00a0The crowd can be vicious and won’t care if your child suddenly goes out of sight- they’ll only care that you are in the way of where they want to be. \u00a0ComicCon can be a frightening place for children and parents when proper safety measures are not taken. \u00a0Here are some things you can do to make sure you don’t lose your children.<\/p>\n![\"FullSizeRender\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=163%2C212\")
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It’s an unfortunate reality of the world we live in and one that we cannot avoid. \u00a0The best we can do is ignore them and not give them any reason to prove them right. \u00a0To\u00a0help prevent our children from having to deal with a mean person who hates kids, is to anticipate your children’s moves and be watchful at all times. \u00a0Look for the things they’ll want to touch and then make sure you prevent that before it happens, not after. \u00a0As we all saw recently when a child playing with blocks unknowingly destroyed a $15,000 dollar Lego sculpture of Nick Wilde, it can and does happen. \u00a0Through meltdowns and missed nap times, just let the snide remarks and irritated glances wash off like water on a duck’s feathers. \u00a0Stay true to your compassionate, parenting self and do your best to be\u00a0watchful, diligent and do what you can\u00a0to ensure everyone has the best time possible. \u00a0That’s all you can do. \u00a0If people still look down their noses at you for bringing babies to a convention, just keep walking. \u00a0They’re probably just jealous that their parents never bothered to take them anywhere that cool.<\/p>\n